Gomentei (食事処ごめん亭) Ramen Shop
I’m going to be honest here. I was never a huge fan of ramen or followed the crowd that was all crazy about how great the ramen is in Japan. In my mind, I always thought they’re all no different from those ramen cup noodles (yea, I know what you’re thinking).
The first ramen I tried was at some shop in Tokyo. I was expecting more with all the rave circling around ramen. Such a disappointment it was.
So, a couple of weeks ago, my husband was super excited, and insisted on having lunch at a ramen shop from his childhood memories. So, with not much expectation, off we went.
Gomentei Ramen Shop
We drove up in front of the shop, parked the car, and got out.
The shop kind of caught me off guard, because it looked more like a house than a shop.
There was no hanging labels off the side of the shop, or big shop name somewhere like you’d normally see.
The only notification you’d get that you are at the right place is a small sign placed outside, in front of the door.
The interior of the shop is super cute!. It reminds me of log cabins, you know. Everything is wood.
There’s one booth are, while the rest are tables.
The sunlights love shining through the big windows, and the whole atmosphere of the shop feels…warm, and homely.
YES!! They even have Japanese comics for you to read!
The cutest part about this shop is the owners, which is run by an old couple. The wife is the waiter/cashier, and the husband is the chef.
The ramen is SO good! It is one of my favorite place for ramen. It had saved other awesome, yummy, ramen shops I’ve haven’t eaten at yet, butt!. I ordered the miso ramen, with crispy pork slices.
The ramen noodles are homemade by the chef, and you know when u bit into a noodle, and you can tell when its store-bought or not?…yea. You can tell the amount of dedication that went into making the noodles.
It was fresh, and thick, garnished with loads of bean sprouts, menma (shredded bamboo), corn, which I thought was SO weird, but OMG! so good. To top it off, it’s sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds.
All served in a big bowl of rich, classic, miso soup. SO YUM!!
Whenever I eat ramen, I always order a side of gyoza (dumpling) with it. The dumpling isn’t bad.
I forgot where the meat was beef or pork, but it also had chop chives mixed in as well.
Probably not the greatest gyozas I’ve had, but not the worst either. Well, the shop’s specialty is ramen, after all.
This shop is only located in Ina, Nagano (from what I see). So, if you are ever in, or around the area, drop by and have yourself a try!.
What”s your favorite ramen?